The Bombardment of Tripoli is a military operation of the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

which took place between July 20 and July 27,

1728 Events January–March * January 5 – The '' Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Gerónimo de la Habana'', the oldest university in Cuba, is founded in Havana. * January 9 – The coronation of Peter II as the Tsar of t ...

against the current city of

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

, in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

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After appearing before

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

which immediately submitted, a French fleet commanded by the

squad leader ''Squad Leader'' is a tactical level board war game originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. It was designed by John Hill and simulates on infantry combat in Europe during World War II. One of the most complex war games of its time, ''Squa ...

Étienne Nicolas de Grandpré presents himself in front of Tripoli of Barbary Coast. Faced with the

Pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, gener ...

's refusal to submit in turn, the French fleet bombarded the city for six nights, causing great destruction. However, this French victory was not exploited due to the lack of troops landing on lan

Background

1685 Events January–March * January 6 – American-born British citizen Elihu Yale, for whom Yale University in the U.S. is named, completes his term as the first leader of the Madras Presidency in India, administering the colony ...

, an expedition had already taken place against

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

and

; its object was then to force these two cities to respect the commitments concluded with the King by making them feel the superiority of the French forces. After the peace treaties they had concluded with

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, the Barbary Pirate of

and

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

left the Italian commercial

vessels Vessel(s) or The Vessel may refer to: Biology *Blood vessel, a part of the circulatory system and function to transport blood throughout the body *Lymphatic vessel, a thin walled, valved structure that carries lymph *Vessel element, a narrow wat ...

in relative tranquility and turned towards French ships, in contravention of the terms of the treaty of

1720 Events January–March * February 10 – Edmond Halley is appointed as Astronomer Royal for England. * January 21 – Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Stockholm (Great Northern War). * February 17 – The Treaty of ...

. In

1725 Events January–March * January 15 – James Macrae, a former captain of a freighter for the British East India Company, is hired by the Company to administer the Madras Presidency (at the time, the "Presidency of Fort St. Ge ...

and

1727 Events January–March * January 1 – (December 21, 1726 O.S.) Spain's ambassador to Great Britain demands that the British return Gibraltar after accusing Britain of violating the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Britain ...

, French squadrons made two naval demonstrations, but the Tripolitan pasha was known for not keeping his word. It was the same with Tunis. Reynaud, a French naval officer, who had been captive in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

and had been assigned to the service of the

Bey of Tunis Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...

, managed to escape and return to France . Learning that the government was preparing to act, he sent from Toulon on September 23, 1727, a plan to bombard the Tunisian ports:

Bizerte Bizerte or Bizerta ( ar, بنزرت, translit=Binzart , it, Biserta, french: link=no, Bizérte) the classical Hippo, is a city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located 65 km (40mil) north of the cap ...

, Porto Farina,

Sousse Sousse or Soussa ( ar, سوسة, ; Berber:''Susa'') is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf ...

and Sfax . The Jean Frédéric Phélypeaux de Maurepas, Secretary of State of the Navy orders the arming of a new squadron of which he entrusts command to the squad commander, Étienne Nicolas de Grandpr�

The Bombardment

During negotiations with

Ahmed Karamanli Ahmed or Ahmed Karamanli or Qaramanli or al-Qaramanli, (most commonly Ahmed Karamanli) (1686–1745) was of Janissary origin and a Member from the Karamanids.The City in the Islamic world, Volume 1, Salma Khadra Jayyusi, Renata Holod, Attilio Pet ...

, the bey in office, via the French consul, no agreement was found. Mr. de Grandpré offered to send one of his officers ashore in exchange for holding the bey's son hostage, but this offer was rejected. The bey responded arrogantly, saying that they were not afraid of

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...

s and had no money to give, and were ready for war. Despite this, Mr. de Grandpré was reluctant to use force, but military movements intensified on land, on the ramparts and in the forts, and the city prepared for combat. With the encouragement of his officers and favorable conditions, Mr. de Grandpré finally decided to bombard the city. For a week, bombs fired into the city every night, causing significant damage. However, bomb reserves were running low, ships had no troops to disembark, and wind became problematic off a rocky coast. The squadron therefore had to return to France with the haughty response of the corsairs, leaving Tripoli almost destroyed but its inhabitants undefeate

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Notes

References

* * * * * {{cite book, author=Georges Lacour-Gayet, title=The Military Navy of France under the reign of Louis XV, publisher= Honoré Champion, Honoré Champion publisher, year=1902, url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1181278.r=La+marine+militaire+de+la+France+sous.langFR Battles involving Ottoman Tripolitania 18th century in Tripoli, Libya Naval battles involving France Naval battles involving Ottoman Tripolitania Military history of Tripoli, Libya Naval bombing operations and battles